


논러코스터

by wooschi



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Discovery, Friendship, M/M, Mentioned NCT, Non AU, Pining, Romance, not really - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-18 01:41:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10606674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wooschi/pseuds/wooschi
Summary: "How are you and Taeyong?" Ten asked. Johnny shrugged. Those words, coming from Ten, felt strange after not hearing them for days.Or Johnny likes Taeyong, and Ten is his best friend. At least, Johnny thought he liked Taeyong. Turns out, Johnny actually likes Ten, and things become confusing because he's not sure if Ten likes him back. Oh, and Ten supports Johnny's crush for Taeyong.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from NCT-127's song, Heartbreaker though this fic has nothing to do with the song.  
> This is my first Johnny x Ten fanfic, so sorry if I make any mistakes. Also the timing in the fic is horrible so let's pretend it's not based around their irl schedules.  
> Sorry for any spelling errors, I actually reread this and found so many but I might've not got all. This was longer than expected and I hate myself because it took me 2 days to write.  
> Enjoi xox

Johnny likes Taeyong. He's liked Taeyong since they were both trainees, both at the same level, and both young and naive. It was when they were both the closest trainees because they both wanted the same thing, they both had the same dreams. The thing was, Johnny liked Taeyong in ways he probably shouldn't.

Johnny adored the say Taeyong danced to the music, being the leader of the group, Taeyong was required to work harder and put his all into every song. Johnny was blessed to finally debut in NCT-127; it meant more time with Taeyong. It meant more time trying to figure out ways to get Taeyong to notice him, to acknowledge him as more than a friend. The only person within the subunits who knew a thing about Johnny's crush was Ten, and Johnny knew Ten for a way shorter amount of time than he knew Taeyong, but things instantly clicked between them and they became very good friends quickly.

Ten was patient with Johnny, he was always there for Johnny. On days where Johnny and Taeyong went out together, Ten will be at the dorms waiting for Johnny to return and tell him all about what they did on their outing, what Johnny wished he did, and what Johnny wished he could say to Taeyong. He was supportive of Johnny and Taeyong, he really was. It made him happy to see Johnny happy and smiley when he was with Taeyong.

Johnny was grateful he had a friend like Ten. The boy was truly a gift.

But lately, seeing Ten became rare. The boy was in NCT-U, and they had their own schedules compared to NCT-127, who was in the midst of having a comeback, and the only time they were able to see each other were at the end of the nights in their dorms. They were usually tired, and though they shared rooms in the dorm, a majority of the time spent at the dorms was sleeping, so their friendship was slowing down, and Johnny focused more on Taeyong.

"Stop pining," Yuta says one day to Johnny, who is watching Taeyong from across the practice room one day. Johnny scoffs. "I don't understand," He says, but he does. Taeyong stretches with Taeil. "It's obvious, dude. Like, I was watching you for a while and it's kind of weird how no one else seemed to notice." Yuta says, and Johnny wonders if it was really true or if Yuta was messing around.

Haechan appears from behind, slinging an arm around Yuta's shoulders.

"Is Johnny pining?" Haechan asks, and Johnny scoffs louder. "Is it really that obvious?" He says in a hushed voice, careful not to draw any more attention. Haechan and Yuta nod. " _Dude_. I'm surprised Taeyong hasn't even noticed. You've been pining him for way too long, it's making me sick," Haechan says, and Yuta agrees. Haechan slaps Johnny's shoulder. "Don't worry. I think Doyoung said something to Taeyong about it."

Johnny is just about to scream, literally, out of embarrassment, but suddenly Taeyong calls him over. "Johnny! Come here," Taeyong shouts from across the practice room and Haechan and Yuta laugh. Johnny, with red ears, stalks over to Taeyong. "What?" He asks informally, because even though Johnny has a crush on Taeyong, it doesn't mean that Johnny isn't going to treat him differently than his other members and friends. "I want to show you this dance move Winwin did, it's sick."

Johnny tries not to stare too hard at Taeyong as the boy dances, but it's really hard not to. He could see Haechan and Yuta laughing at him from across the room.

-

Ten is sitting on the couch in the lounge of the dorms, and just as Johnny walks in, Jaehyun is leaving. Jaehyun pats Ten's shoulder as a goodbye bid, and he acknowledges Johnny as they walk passed each other. Ten looks back and sees Johnny coming.

It's only about 9pm, and the NCTs have gotten off practice fairly early (mostly because NCT DREAM had a stage in the morning and the older NCTs had to set good examples of using their time wisely, or something weird Doyoung said). It left boredom lingering in the dorms, as most of the kids weren't tired after their sleeping schedule shifted a lot. Winwin and Taeyong were in the game room, and the others were scattered around the dorms, careful to not disturb the Dreamies who were probably not even sleeping.

Johnny sat on the sofa beside Ten, and Ten being curious asked, "How's Taeyong?" Johnny shrugs. Today wasn't as different as the past week; Taeyong continued only seeing Johnny as a friend, despite Johnny acting, very subtly, more touchy. Johnny was about to die of how slow he was acting upon his crush, but Taeyong was Taeyong and he totally couldn't make a huge move just yet. He wanted Taeyong to atleast understand where he was coming from. "The same old same old." Johnny replies.

"Maybe you're not trying hard enough, are you sure you're completely smitten for Taeyong?" Ten asks in English, the language they used when discussing personal things because the others wouldn't understand them. Sometimes, being multilingual had its pros. "Probably. And I'm sure, why else would I invest so much time into him?" Johnny replies. It's true, Johnny likes Taeyong and it's probably going to always be that way. Ten shrugs. "Just act faster. Maybe you're going too slow, have you noticed that Taeil is getting closer to him?" Ten asks, and Johnny feels himself groan. "Don't remind me."

Taeil has been getting too close to Taeyong for Johnny's liking, and it seemed Johnny wasn't the only one who noticed. Ten smiled sadly. "If I were you, I'd probably admit to Taeyong before Taeil does, you know? But maybe we're looking at it wrong, maybe Taeyong and Taeil are what we are to each other."

"Friends?" Johnny asks. Ten laughs. " _Best_ friends. They are probably close to each other like how we are close to each other, but does that mean I'm trying to take you from Taeyong?"

Johnny slumps. He didn't think of it that way. But still. Taeil and Taeyong's new close bond made Johnny feel envious. He wanted to be closer to Taeyong. Maybe he should start with that.

Ten pats Johnny's shoulder as he gets up. "Don't worry. Taeyong would really be missing out on a good guy if he doesn't accept your love. Good night," Ten says, and Johnny takes a moment to comprehend what Ten just said. "Good night." Johnny says a moment too late as Ten is already gone from the lounge.

First step to get Taeyong: _get closer to him._

-

Johnny attempts to get closer to Taeyong, he really does. He even went far to try convince Haechan to switch dorms, which the boy just laughed in his face.

"As much as I'm sick of you pining over Taeyong, I want to see you work for it. Being his roommate will be too easy," Is Haechan's logic. Johnny laughs at that. "What do you expect if we barely have time to talk to each other during the day as it is, Haechan?" Johnny snarled. Haechan laughed and walked away.

Taeyong still seems so oblivious, even when Johnny does so much as slide his arm around his waist, Taeyong still takes it as a friendly gesture. Yuta catches them being so close one time, Johnny sitting on the couch next to Taeyong, their thighs touching and Johnny's arm thrown around the boy's shoulders, watching a film. Taeyong becomes a stuttering mess, Yuta chuckles and sends them winks and Taeyong shifts away from Johnny. Johnny takes that as an affirmative that Taeyong now understands him somewhat.

But now Taeyong seems to be avoiding Johnny. Not in the sense that Taeyong would straightly refuse to acknowledge him, but the boy avoids Johnny in situations where it's just the two of them in a room. It makes Johnny frustrated, because how else is he supposed to get closer to Taeyong if the boy avoids him as it is?

One night, Johnny stalks to Taeyong and Haechan's dorm. Haechan is in the longue with Winwin and Mark, Ten is back in their shared dorm with Jaehyun. Taeyong in laying in bed, seemingly sleeping until Johnny walks in. Taeyong's eyes open blearily, but he sits up to acknowledge Johnny.

Johnny, being the confident dude he is, casually sits down on Haechan's bed across Taeyong's.

"What time is it?" Taeyong asks. Johnny looks at the watch on his wrist. "Past 10pm," He says. Taeyong nods. "Oh."

"How have you been feeling?" Johnny asks. Taeyong has been bed-ridden for the past couple of days, and he said it's because he was simply tired and not sick, but he didn't protest when Jaehyun forced cold medicine down his throat last night. "Tired," Taeyong replies. "It feels like my bones are numb, but I feel better than yesterday." He finishes, and Johnny takes in the sight of cuddly Taeyong in a sweater and messy bed hair.

"Sucks. Taeil was pesting Winwin all day yesterday because you weren't around," Johnny informs with a light chuckle, Taeyong chuckling meekly along. Johnny missed Taeyong's smile, he's been so serious lately, especially towards him. "Tell Taeil I'll be fine by tomorrow and he'll be able to bother me then." Taeyong says, and Johnny laughs.

"Will do. Good night, Taeyong." Johnny says as he begins to stalk out of the dorm. He would've stayed longer, but Taeyong's constant yawns made felt Johnny feel like he was draining the last of energy Taeyong had.

"Good night." Taeyong murmurs, falling into the pillows.

-

Taeyong is better by tomorrow morning. He's actually eating breakfast when Johnny wakes up, and it makes Johnny feel light when Taeyong beams a huge smile at him.

"Johnny!" Taeyong calls enthusiastically. Johnny knows he's whipped for Taeyong.

-

Ten comes into the dorm one night. Johnny is laying in bed on his phone, and Ten sits right on Johnny's stomach, and the taller boy heaves and Ten laughs. They play fight, Johnny shoving Ten off of him and the boy lands on his back on Johnny's bed. Ten makes himself comfortable instantly.

Laying in bed with Ten wasn't weird. They've shared beds in their early trainee days for about a year until they moved to a proper dorm, and Johnny never made it weird. His friends back in America avoided skinship and anything considered for couples, but his friends in Korea didn't and Johnny enjoyed that. Especially with Ten.

Ten snorted when Johnny picked up his phone again, slapping the device out of his hand. Johnny nearly screamed.

"Tell me now, what's the update on you and Tae-dawg?" Ten asks and Johnny makes a noise of disgust. "Ugh. Never call anyone dawg," He complains and Ten laughs, adjusting his head position on Johnny's pillow. "But it's good. I think he knows that I like him; he's more accepting of when I touch him, he always used to push away or take it as a friend gesture." Johnny informs, feeling a smile sneak on his face.

Ten _ah's_ , shoving Johnny's shoulder playfully. "Nice. But is that all? _You haven't kissed him so hard he dies?_ " Ten asks, and Johnny feels his face get hot. He's never thought about kissing Taeyong, and it sounded weird when someone else said it. "Ugh. Don't say that, that's weird!" Johnny hides his face in his hands and Ten laughs. His laugh is contagious, and Johnny laughs too.

"Bro, if you like someone, you should kiss them. Obviously. But if you're pining without making actual moves, Taeyong might mistake your pathetic flirting as only trying to get to know him as a friend," Ten says, and Johnny looks up at Ten, who is looking rather superior from his own words. "It's not that pathetic." Johnny argues, and Ten doesn't reply, just shrugs with a sly smirk. Johnny punches Ten's chest, and the Thai boy laughs and attempts to push Johnny away.

Jaehyun comes into their dorm, ignoring Ten and Johnny because them in the same bed was never a rare sight. It became normal the first month of being their roommates.

"Where's Taeyong?" Jaehyun asks, and the mention of Taeyong has Johnny's ears poking up in interest. "He's not back with Doyoung or Taeil? They went down to the practice room around 6," Ten says, noticing the time was only 9pm. Usually if Taeyong or anyone went to the practice room after 6pm, they most likely won't be back until midnight. "Oh. Never thought about that." Jaehyun says, and both Ten and Johnny roll their eyes.

Just then, the sound of the door slamming resonated throughout the entire dorm. Ten jumped, and Johnny looked surprised as Taeil could be heard calling after him. Ten and Johnny get up from the bed, curious about the commotion, and before anyone could comprehend anything, the door to Taeyong and Haechan's room slams shut and Taeil is pleading for him to open up.

Everything is confusing for Ten, and also the other members, who are crowding around, just as confused as he was.

"Taeyong, I didn't mean it. Open the door, please," Taeil begs. Johnny is immediately asking what's wrong, for the sake of Taeyong, of course. "Nothing," Taeil shrugs, and Jaehyun scoffs. "We just had a little fight, okay?" Taeil eventually snides, and Johnny is shoving the boy to the side and knocks on Taeyong's door.

"Taeyong, open the door, let me in." Johnny says, and Taeil shakes his head when the door is unlocked with a soft click. Johnny disappears into the room, and Ten pities Taeil who looks upset behind the stoic mask he holds on his face.

Everything falls awkward, and slowly the boys begin to turn away, and Taeil is left looking stumped as Ten goes back into his dorm.

-

Two days after Taeil and Taeyong's debacle, or fight, Taeil is seeking Ten. Ten doesn't know why, but he's in the practice room with Yuta, Winwin, Jaehyun and Doyoung. As much as Ten hated to say, the air became tense whenever Taeil or Taeyong was around.

Ten felt a tap on his shoulder as he was sitting on the floor, exausted from practice, obviously. Ten looked behind him, and Taeil was there looking awkward as ever.

Ten hated the way he was still awkward with Taeil besides knowing each other for so long and even being in the same group. But hey, not everyone is close with each other.

"Can I talk to you?" Taeil asks, and Ten nods. He stands up, adjusting his sweaty shirt and Taeil makes a face but turns around and walks out of the practice room. Ten follows him. They stop near the bathrooms, and for a moment Ten thinks Taeil is going to to in them, but instead he stops in front of the doors. Ten doesn't question it as Taeil begins to look rather nervous.

"Uh. Taeyong," Taeil says, and Ten is curious and wants to prod the boy about what happened. So far, no one knows what happened. Maybe Johnny, but no one said anything. "Our fight. It wasn't really a fight," Taeil admits, and this really catches Ten's attention. "What was it about?" Ten asks before he could stop himself.

"Well. God, this is more complicated than I thought. But if it wasn't obvious, I like.... Taeyong," Taeil admits, looking as awkward as ever as he looks around in case anyone was eavesdropping. Ten doesn't know how to react; Taeil and Johnny _both_ liking Taeyong? Obviously not good at all. "And I told him... And I thought he'd like me back because we were getting so close.

"But he said he doesn't like me. In that way, and I got... Upset, I guess. And he got upset. And everything is a mess and I really don't know how to fix it," Taeil says, and for a moment Ten doesn't know what to say. Until, "Start with apologizing," slips out. "Not for liking him. For whatever you said to upset him." Ten corrects himself, and Taeil rolls his eyes.

"You think I haven't tried that? He won't even come within ten feet of me," Taeil awkwardly scratches his head. "I can get you guys alone," Ten says suddenly. Taeil looks surprised. "Really?" He asks. Ten has no choice but to nod. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll try to get you guys alone tonight. I'll get Johnny and Jaehyun out of his dorm."

-

It's hard to seperate Johnny from Taeyong, especially since they've been almost attached to each other for the past two days. Getting Jaehyun out of the room is easy; Ten simply told the boy that Doyoung was searching for him.

Ten knocks on the door for the fifth time that night. "Johnny, I need to talk to you," He says in attempts to get Johnny to come out. Honestly, why wouldn't Johnny budge? There's a muffled shout of "Later." from Johnny on the other side and Ten bites his lip. From the corner of his eye he could see Taeil standing at the door of his shared room with Winwin and Yuta.

"Johnny, fucking get out here," Ten shouts in English. Taeil snickers from where he stands and suddenly Mark is howling from somewhere in the dorm. There's low grumbles, but suddenly the door is being opened and Johnny looks rather annoyed as he comes out. "What the hell? What?"

Ten suddenly doesn't know what to do, but he has to get Johnny away so Taeil could go into the room.

"Uh. Let's go get food," Ten says, more like a demand than an offer. "Is that all you wanted?" Johnny asks, pushing his hair out of his face. Ten suddenly stutters. "Well, yeah, we haven't eaten since breakfast." Ten says, and Johnny shrugs, surprising Ten that he wasn't putting up more of a fight.

As they leave, Ten looks back momentarily and sees Taeil standing outside of Taeyong's door, looking like a nervous wreck.

-

"So, what's up with you and Taeyong?" Ten asks as they hold numerous bags of take out food. As always, whenever someone goes out for food, the other members request something, and this time it was almost everyone at the dorms begging for food. Johnny remains stoic, but he seems more confident. "Nothing. Yet. Honestly, he's been upset with Taeil and wouldn't tell me why, but he always asks me to stay with him." Johnny says, sounding very positive.

"We've gotten closer. In terms of getting to know each other, he kind of pulls away whenever I touch him but that's okay," Johnny admits, and Ten wonders about Taeyong and Taeil. Did Taeyong like Johnny or Taeil? Or neither? Was Taeil still going to attempt to chase Taeyong even after all of this? Was Johnny completely and utterly blind? "Wow. You really like him." Ten says in a tone that's surprising to himself.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess," Johnny says, and it confuses Ten because it was less enthusiastic and confident than he expected, but then Johnny is adding more. "Who wouldn't? Haha, Taeyong is the best, hehe."

Ten awkwardly laughs along.

-

Everything goes back to normal a few days later. Taeyong and Taeil are close again, and it confuses Johnny but he accepts that his crush is happy again and doesn't make a big deal out of it. The Dreamies are just as enthusiastic about life as possible, Jaehyun and Doyoung are pulling pranks on everyone, and Ten and Johnny become close again.

Ten doesn't mind anything at all. He doesn't question it. He's a "live in the moment" kind of guy. So, at first, he doesn't really notice when Johnny touches him more than usual.

It starts small. Barely noticable to the average person. Johnny's hand lingering in a spot of Ten's body and touches in places Johnny wouldn't normally touch, like Ten's neck. Johnny knew he was sensitive on his neck and never touched there anyway. Johnny doesn't seem to notice that his touches linger too.

But Johnny becomes envious again, about Taeil and Taeyong, and the pieces click in Ten's mind one night. He kind of thinks that Johnny is subconsciously taking his frustrations out on Ten by touching him the way he wishes to touch Taeyong. It's weird, but at the moment it's all Ten could think of.

One day, Ten was invited to NCT-127's practice by Jaehyun.

"It's not a big deal, plus you'll get to see the big boys do our thing." Jaehyun says with a pathetic wink. So now he's here. And it's pretty cool to see the Limitless dance right in front of him, if Ten might add.

When 127's break came, Taeil and Taeyong excused themselves to go to the bathroom. Johnny was less than impressed. Ten was conflicted.

Johnny was his best friend, Taeil was his friend, and they both had nothing but good intentions for Taeyong. Ten didn't know who to support, but it seemed like he played both ways. He's been Johnny's support for almost two years, but he also got Taeil and Taeyong to get along again, closer than usual.

Johnny shook his head, arriving next to Ten before plonking himself on the floor next to the boy.

"I think I'm dying," Johnny said in English. "They just went to the bathroom," Ten says, because it's true. Johnny rolls his eyes. "Honestly, I think there's something more going on. I don't think Taeil and Taeyong are close friends like we are."

Johnny put his hand on Ten's thigh subconsciously, and Ten tries not to pay attention to the touch.

"Dude, they just had a fight. A big one. Maybe they're rekindling their two days of not speaking to each other by catching up or something," Ten tries to make Johnny not think much about it, but seems to fail as Johnny squeezes his thigh before standing up. "Let's go to the bathroom." Johnny switches back to Korean, and Ten doesn't argue as he stands up.

Johnny leads the way, and Ten has a horrible feeling as they go down the hall to the bathrooms. Ten races past Johnny, because he feels like he should be the one to go in first if Taeil and Taeyong are doing anything and not Johnny.

When Ten pushes open the bathroom door, he's met with emptiness. Not even any of the stalls are occupied.

"They probably went to the bathroom on the third floor," Ten says, and Johnny shrugs. "I don't care. I need the bathroom." He says, pushing past Ten. Ten doesn't think much about it, instead he waits for Johnny.

-

Ten is laying in his bed. He has the top bunk, on top of Johnny, and he's alone in the room because the others are somewhere around. Jaehyun left for a food run with Taeil and Yuta, and Johnny was probably with Taeyong while Taeil was gone. Ten laid under the covers, feeling cold despite the thick blanket covering him.

It wasn't dark outside, the sky was only a bluish colour but it still illuminated the dorm enough.

Ten never thought about Johnny in any other way than a friend. Never. He wasn't even sure he liked boys. But Johnny. Was. Something else. He tried hard to not look at Johnny in that way, because Johnny liked Taeyong and Taeyong probably liked Taeil, and Ten didn't like anybody within the group - except, maybe, Johnny.

Ten decided to sleep on it, ignoring his rumbling stomach deprived of food.

-

Johnny came into their dorm an hour after he ate. Everyone else was camping out in the lounge, but Johnny felt too heavy and tired. While three of the members, including Taeil, went for a food run, Johnny attempted to speak to Taeyong. But Taeyong seemed less interested in him, in the sense of romantic attraction and not friendship.

Taeyong still only saw Johnny as a friend. Or maybe Taeil was slowly converting him to like him, because those two days he spent with Taeyong after his fight with Taeil, they were pretty damn intimate to be just friends, which was something Johnny never told Ten. It's not like they kissed or anything beyond that, but all they did was cuddle. Seriously. Taeyong was down in the dumps and Johnny was desperate to help.

So now Johnny felt so conflicted. Did he still like Taeyong despite finally understanding, after two years, that Taeyong will never like him back? Pathetically, yes. Kind of. At least Johnny wants to think he does. But has he not been looking at Taeyong like he used to that Jaehyun and Yuta stopped joking about him pining?

Neither of them seemed to bring it up, not even Ten. Ten hasn't been asking lately what his status with Taeyong was, and Johnny never thought much about it until it just stopped.

Johnny looked up at Ten's sleeping form on his top bunk, gentle breaths as the city lights poured into the room and casted orange light and dark shadows around the sleeping boy.

Johnny went to his bed, and for a moment he stopped to look at Ten again, close up, who was curled up under his blanket, lips parted as soft sighs escaped with every exhale. To Johnny's surprise, Ten looked cute. Shaking the thoughts out, Johnny stripped down to his underwear and climbed into his bed.

He hooked his phone to it's charger, the bright screen illuminating and blinding him. Johnny didn't feel like going on it, so he clicked it lock and placed it on the nightstand. He got comfy as he could without shifting too much and waking up Ten, and when his body heat started getting trapped in the blanket and making him warm, he sighed as he stared up at the wood that divided him and Ten.

Ten. Johnny never thought about Ten in a way more than friendly. He was always just there for Johnny, asking him how his day was, how he felt, his his progress with Taeyong was going. He was there for comfort, when Johnny was feeling down, missed home, or had a bad day; Ten would be his pillow or even shoulder to cry on. He was his best friend. They met when they were only 16, as trainees who supported each other and encouraged one another.

Ten was a huge part of Johnny's life, of course. But Johnny never thought about Ten romantically, he didn't think it was possible. But piece by piece, he started weeding out the hints.

The touches. Johnny never thought about his touches.

Realizing now, he never touched Ten's neck or thighs before, but doing so just felt normal; like they were already dating or something (as cringe as the thought was). Even if it was because Johnny was salty about Taeil and Taeyong, he always needed to touch Ten to get him to calm down, but he never thought about where he touched. He just needed the contact.

Ten made him happy, that was 100%, and he was always there for Johnny and the boy was grateful for that. Whenever they hugged, either privately or in public, it always left Johnny feeling fuzzy, but he thought it as an intimate moment between friends, never because he might like Ten. They were always close, sharing beds at one point in their lives; always in each other's bed whether it's to talk or just lay there, in each other's presence.

When Ten mentioned Johnny kissing Taeyong, he just felt so awkward. He thought it was because the thought of kissing Taeyong made him nervous, and hearing Ten say it made him awkward, but now. Oh man, now that he recalls his thoughts at the back of his mind that time, he thinks it's because he wanted to kiss Ten.

Jesus. Johnny was having an internal war with himself. It was all so confusing, but everything pieced together in the end.

_Johnny liked Ten._

_-_

The thing that confused Johnny the most was if Ten liked him back or not. He didn't want to risk losing over four years of friendship over a stupid mistake he might make. It's hard to read Ten, it always has been.

Ten seemed to gravitate more towards Jaehyun now. Before everything began to fall out (in Johnny's opinion), Ten would always be with Johnny the most. But now he went to Jaehyun, and was only with Johnny if the taller boy initiated the act or made the first move. They were still friends, of course, but Johnny felt like he was losing their special bond the more time Ten spent with anyone else other than him.

It felt wrong to think that way. Ten was allowed to have other friends, but Johnny felt conflicted as he was in the midst of discovering his own feelings towards the boy and it didn't help that they barely spoke during the days.

One day, Ten was alone in the lounge. It seemed most of the kids went out because the dorm felt almost empty. Johnny had been in bed all day, and it probably convinced everyone that he was ill or something because they haven't disturbed him at all.

Johnny walked in the lounge, where Ten was on his phone and watching the TV at the same time. Johnny scoffed at the boy's odd behavior, but moved to sit on the couch with him, making sure to keep enough space between them as he could without making it seem like he was trying too hard to avoid Ten.

Ten looked at him but Johnny kept his gaze straight ahead at the TV.

"How are you and Taeyong?" Ten asked. Johnny shrugged. Those words, coming from Ten, felt strange after not hearing them for days. "I don't think he'll ever like me. I mean, he has Taeil," Johnny says, and he's surprised that he's okay with that thought now. "Yeah. I didn't want to tell you, but I think they've always liked each other and were just pining." Ten says and Johnny's mouth kind of dries. Ten was always so brutally honest when he wanted to be.

"I thought he'd like me, I mean, we were getting pretty close. God, I'm so pathetic," Johnny laughs, and he can't tell if he's hurt or genuinely amused. His feelings are mixed up. "No you're not. You tried, but I guess his heart wasn't set on you," Ten winces at his own words from how utterly cliché they are. "Yeah. Besides, I think I like someone else." Johnny says before he could stop himself.

Ten looks curious. "Really? Who?" He asks. Johnny becomes nervous as he attempts to drive Ten out of the subject. "Uh, no one. Really, I probably won't act upon it this time. I got to focus more on NCT. Hey, how have you been?"

Ten accepts that he won't get an answer just yet, but it kind of makes him feel down knowing Johnny already has another crush after pining on Taeyong for so long. Johnny doesn't deserve to have crushes that won't reciprocate his feelings. "Good. Been thinking a lot about stuff, life, you know? Haha." Ten says, and Johnny nods at the answer.

"Oh. Okay. Is there anyone you like?" Johnny asks, suddenly curious about Ten's love life. "We've talked so much about my private life that I didn't realize we never talked about yours," He adds. Ten shrugs. "I don't know. I really don't know." Ten says, and Johnny deflates a bit.

What was he expecting? For Ten to admit that he likes him? Ha.

"Cool. Are you sure, though?" Johnny asks, and Ten chuckles. "Probably. I'm still deciding if I like them or not. But you'll be the first to know." Ten says and Johnny feels happy with this reply.

-

Ten offers to go to the practice room, and who is Johnny to deny? He's never been to the practice building alone with just Ten, especially since they were in different units. His only concern is that it's nearing 10pm, but Ten doesn't even seem to notice.

Once they arrive to the practice room, Ten flicks the lights on and bright fluorescent lights light up the room.

"When did you suddenly come to the realization that chasing Taeyong was useless?" Ten asks as he saunters to the disc player. Johnny shrugs. "It just came to me one night," He says, which isn't exactly a lie. "Really? You were having existential thoughts one night and decided that having crushes is stupid and devastating?" Ten teases, and Johnny nudges the boy with the toe of his shoe. Ten laughs.

"Not exactly. I just figured out that I liked someone else then I had an existential crisis," Johnny says, and Ten laughs. "Okay. Are you going to tell me who your mysterious crush is or do I have to do some detective work?" Ten questions, gaze lingering on Johnny longer than usual from his spot on the floor. Johnny shrugs yet again. "No, and if you want to do detective work, than be my guest. I doubt you'll figure out who it is." Johnny says, and Ten sighs loudly.

Johnny steals Ten's black cap, putting it on his own head before he sits down next to Ten on the floor, who is still picking out the music. They quarrel over SHINEe and TVXQ, but in the end they decide on BIGBANG.

Ten steals his hat back from Johnny, who doesn't protest, and he stands up with BIGBANG's Bang Bang Bang blares through the speakers. Ten attempts to dance along to the song, and Johnny laughs whenever he misses a step or forgets a move. The chorus is the easiest part, and Ten nails all of them and Johnny feels a bit intimated.

They play dance for four more songs, Ten always trying to start a dance battle but Johnny being to shy that he crumples to the floor in laughter. It's when a slow BIGBANG song comes on that Ten drops to the floor in exhaustion, fanning his sweaty face.

"I can't believe you didn't want to have a dance battle," Ten says to Johnny who is sitting up, his cheeks red from being active. "Because you'd win, even if you danced off beat, you'd probably still win." Johnny says, and Ten laughs. Things fall silent besides their heavy breathing and sighs.

Ten had his eyes closed as he lays on the floor that he doesn't notice Johnny staring at him. He opens his eyes, and Johnny shyly looks away. Ten narrows his eyes in suspicion, and he pushes himself up into a sitting position and shifts so that he's somewhat close to Johnny.

"Do I really have to play detective?" Ten asks, and Johnny knows what he means but he doesn't really want to answer. Johnny, instead, looks at Ten, who is shockingly closer than expected. The air is heavy, and Johnny feels his hands shaking as Ten opens his mouth to speak again.

Then, Ten's words from a month ago ring in Johnny's mind at that moment.

" _Bro, if you like someone, you should kiss them._ " ~

Johnny attacks Ten's mouth with his own, cutting the boy off from speaking. It's not really kissing, their lips are just pressed against each other, and Johnny can hear his heartbeat in his ears. But when he realizes what he's done, he's about to pull away until Ten surprisingly kisses back. Ten's hands reach up to touch Johnny's neck, and he tugs the boy closer and Johnny is taken by surprise.

Johnny, much to his dismay, pulls away, but keeps their distance fairly close. He looks up at Ten to search for a negative expression, a negative reaction, but he's met with a reaction that's similar to his own; shocked and desperate.

Ten sighs softly before closing the gap once again, and this time Johnny is much more confident despite his shaking hands and pacing heartbeat. Ten shifts so he's closer to Johnny, and Johnny spreads his legs so Ten could fit right in. Johnny's hands find themselves on Ten's sides, above his hips, their lips moving ever so softly together like they're afraid. Ten's fingers crawl from Johnny's neck to the base of his hair, and hesitantly runs softly over the dark brown strands. He tugs Johnny's roots, and the boy embarrassingly releases a soft moan.

Ten laughs in the kiss, and Johnny can't help but laugh too, out of embarrassment, while pulling away. God, Ten looked so good. Cheeks hot and flushed, eyes smiling with his huge smile releasing small laughter.

Their laughter dies down, and everything falls silent again. Ten shifts. Johnny's grip on his waist tightens.

"Let's go back to the dorms, we didn't tell anyone we left, they probably think we're dead," Ten suggests, and Johnny lightly chuckles at the last part. "They probably didn't even notice that we left." Johnny says, which he hopes is true. Nobody needs to know where they were or what they were doing.

They head back to the dorms, things are silent between them.

When they get to the dorms, Jaehyun is seemingly waiting for them, because when they walk into the dorm, the boy is sitting on the couch.

"Where have you guys been? Doyoung went to bed early so I was bored," Jaehyun complains. Ten snorts. "Should've had a sleepover," He says, and Jaehyun stutters. "Are you insane?" Is all Jaehyun replies with, walking to their room with flushed ears.

"Ah, I swear he's actually a child." Johnny says, and Ten agrees. Suddenly, once they're alone, everything feels intimate, almost awkward.

"Uh, I'm going to go shower." Ten says, breaking the silence and walking down to the washrooms. Johnny opens his mouth to say something but nothing comes out, so instead he goes to their room.

Jaehyun is tidying the dirty laundry when Johnny comes in, but he stops when he notices Johnny's presence.

"Okay, not to be really nosy or whatever, but do you still like Taeyong?" Jaehyun asks, and hearing someone other than Ten even say that has Johnny feeling quite nervous and awkward. But Johnny is sure he doesn't like Taeyong anymore. "Uh. No, not really. As a friend? Yeah," Johnny replies, scratching his head. "Oh good!" Jaehyun says.

Johnny is confused. "What? Why?" He asks, narrowing his eyes at Jaehyun. "I think Taeyong likes Taeil," Jaehyun says, and Johnny rolls his eyes - like he didn't know that. "I think you're the last one to notice." He says to Jaehyun.

Johnny takes a shower in the Dreamy's bathroom, because Ten is most likely in the main washroom and it would feel different and probably weird to shower in the same room, despite having done that for many years. Everything felt different now, Johnny couldn't deny that. It was probably going to be different from now on.

When Johnny got back to his dorm, Ten was already back, a towel around his shoulders as he was rummaging through the dresser for a t shirt. Johnny looked away from the sight because it felt like he should. Jaehyun was laying in his bed, on his phone, seemingly not minding the two boys.

Johnny sat on his bed, taking his phone from his charger to distract himself. Johnny couldn't deny that there was a shift in the atmosphere, but Ten honestly didn't seem to care as he threw on a t shirt and dried his hair with the towel before tossing the towel in the laundry basket before pestering Jaehyun.

Johnny tried not to look at them play fighting on the bed, Ten sitting upon Jaehyun's chest while the poor boy was groaning and heaving as he slapped and hit Ten. They always play fought before bedtime to help them become exhausted so they can sleep easily, and Johnny had no problem with that before, but now it felt wrong to watch Jaehyun just touch Ten in places Ten wouldn't let anyone else touch.

Johnny shifted on his bed, leaning up against the pillows as he played a game on his phone to distract himself.

A while later, Jaehyun seemed to get tired, after loud yelping and laughing, Ten got off of him, not before giving one last flick on the forehead. Jaehyun shouted, and Ten flicked the light closed. Johnny's phone was the only source of light in the now dark room, and Ten used that as a guidance to find his way to his bed.

After almost ten minutes of silence, Jaehyun's snores could be heard and Johnny took that as a sign that he should sleep too. Johnny locked his phone and attempted to get comfortable and laid in bed for another five minutes the most.

"Johnny..." Ten whispered, and Johnny almost didn't hear it because of how quiet it was. "Huh?" Johnny asked. "Are you awake?" Johnny muffles a chuckle in his pillow. Obviously he was awake if he was responding. "Yeah."

Ten didn't reply, instead he was climbing down the steps of the bunk bed, and Johnny pushed himself up. He was about to ask what was wrong until Ten climbed into the bed with him, and Johnny shyly moved over so they could both fit. A single bunk bed wasn't enough to fit two young adult men, but they made it work somehow with Johnny up against the wall and Ten really close to him. They adjusted to get comfortable, which ended up with Ten laying on Johnny's arm, his legs wrapped around one of Johnny's legs.

It wasn't as weird as Johnny thought it was to be. Maybe because when they used to share beds, they'd wake up in strange positions. Or maybe it was because the thought of being intimate with Ten wasn't as scary as he made it out to be.

"Is this okay?" Ten asks in a whisper, one of his hands coming up to rest upon Johnny's chest, feeling the heart beating rapidly. "Uh, yeah," Johnny stutters. He's a bit nervous. "Good." Is all Ten replies with.

They lay in silence for a while, and Johnny thinks Ten has fallen asleep at one point. Johnny shifts, laying on his side to face Ten, their position stays the same.

Ten looks up, and from what Johnny could see from his eyes adjusting to the darkness and city lights pouring through the window, Ten's eyes are glistening. Johnny brings a hand to the boy's chin, tilting his head up even more before, very nervously, leans downwards to connect their lips.

Ten is quick to kiss back. Their hands grip each other tightly, but their both too scared to make any further touches and movements. Johnny could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest out of nerves.

They pull apart for breath, but then they're kissing again, but this time Ten feels braver, and he makes the kiss more intense by adding tongue. Johnny nearly chokes.

Johnny's nerves calm down, and he's getting more into the feeling as Ten's tongue gently brushes against his own, and he could feel himself moving to his own accord. Johnny shifts, their kiss breaks apart, and he's on top of Ten, the boy's legs on either side of his hips, and Johnny leans down to connect their lips again.

The position feels more intimate, and Johnny can't help but become tingly in feeling as Ten's hands lock themselves around his neck, tugging at the roots of his hair.

They kiss like this for a while, both of them once again afraid to move further. Johnny could feel that his cheeks are hot, his nerves tingling and Ten's pants in his mouth. Everything feels hot and intimate, but Johnny can't imagine himself going further with Ten just yet. Seems like Ten thinks the same, because when Johnny pulls away, they're both panting and Ten pulls Johnny down, cuddling his into the pillows.

Johnny feels his heart beat becoming steady as Ten lays his head on his chest, and he's content in the moment as he wraps an arm around Ten.

-

Ten wakes up to Jaehyun poking his shoulder. Ten opens his eyes, and the boy is looking confused and amused. Ten yawns as he shifts to turn around as much as he could with a heavy Johnny practically draped over him.

"What's this?" Jaehyun asks, motioning to him and Johnny. "What? It's not the first time we slept together in the same bed," Ten murmurs, still feeling sleepy as he curls into himself and hugs the blanket. "I know, but you guys haven't slept together in years." Jaehyun prods, and Ten is too sleepy to reply, and eventually Jaehyun leaves.

Ten is about to fall back asleep until Johnny shifts, and an arm wraps around him and pulls him close. Ten yawns, turning around so that he's facing Johnny and he places his head on the boy's shoulder. Ten thinks Johnny is asleep, but the boy plants a soft kiss on his hair and says "Good morning." In his husky morning voice that has Ten shook.

"No, I'm sleeping." Ten says, and Johnny chuckles against his hair. Ten holds Johnny down so the boy wouldn't think about getting up and disturbing his sleep, although Ten was slowly waking up. After a while, Ten seems to be awake, and Johnny notices too.

"Good morning," Johnny says yet again. Ten rolls his eyes. "Good morning," He replies in a sweet voice. "I'm dying."

Johnny laughs and Ten really wants to ( _metaphorically_ , of course) die.

-

If it wasn't obvious, Ten and Johnny become a thing. Ten doesn't know if it counts, because neither of them has asked to date, it just sort of happened. Ten can't help like feel someone should ask, just to be safe that neither of them were wasting their time if they weren't going to get anything out of it (he means, kissing is great, but Ten can't help but be traditional, if you must. It won't feel real unless it becomes official, but he's content).

It's been about two weeks, and none of the other members seem to really notice. Ten and Johnny keep intimate content for the night, when they're really alone. Not because they're ashamed or anything, but because the other members might freak out if they see them vigorously making out against the wall or something.

Ten shudders.

Johnny is still asleep, and Ten has been in the kitchen for almost half an hour. He might've only had a few hours of sleep, but he felt perfectly average as he ate the last of his cereal.

The first person who comes into the kitchen after Ten, of course, is Johnny. The boy is yawning as he enters, and Ten looks over and watches as Johnny blearily looks around.

"Good morning." He says to Johnny, who blinks in reply. Ten chuckles. It was almost 7am and none of the members ever woke up this early unless the had important business (a stage, an interview, something). Ten gets up from the floor, picking up his bowl and taking it to the sink. The dishes are piling meaning Winwin didn't do them last night.

Ten turns around and is suddenly caged by Johnny, who is lazily smirking, hands placed on the counter on either side of Ten. "Good morning," He says, and Ten raises an eyebrow. "Hi."

"Hi."

They kiss. It's soft and sweet. Ten is quick to reach up to Johnny's shoulders, and Johnny moves his hands to Ten's waist.

"Nice."

Ten and Johnny pull apart to look at the person. It's Taeyong, and Johnny swears he almost forgot how the boy looked. Taeyong looks rather impressed, and Ten's grip subconsciously tightens around Johnny's shoulder.

"I honestly saw this coming but it's still pretty surprising," Taeyong informs, and Johnny is speechless and Ten flushes. "Yeah. Continue, continue." Taeyong says as he exits the kitchen with laughs.

Johnny is the first to speak. "He saw this and not my pathetic pining for him for years? I'm impressed, and kind of disappointed at how blind he is," He says, and laughter bubbles out of Ten. "Literally." Ten comments. Johnny laughs.

"Oh yeah, my crush was you," Johnny says, and for a moment Ten looks confused. "When you asked who I liked after I told you I didn't like Taeyong anymore," Johnny clarifies, and realization dawns upon Ten. "Oh? You were mine, too." Johnny is a bit shocked, but Ten grins shyly and that's all it takes to have Johnny believe him.

"That kind of reminds me. Hm. Do you want to like - ?" Johnny asks, looking shy as every and Ten tilts his head to the side, knowing what Johnny is asking but wanting to hear it. "To what?" He asks, and Johnny sighs heavily and Ten chuckles. "Hm?"

"Do you want to go - go out with me?" Johnny asks, and Ten laughs right in his face. "Dude!" Johnny shouts, offended and confused. Ten settles down, his cheeks flushed from both laughing and the embarrassment that comes after.

Ten's hands slide down Johnny's shoulders to his forearms, and he could feel the goosebumps that rise on his skin. Johnny is looking expectantly at Ten, and Ten feels shy.

"Yes, I'd like to go out with you." Ten says, and Johnny looks victorious. Ten laughs and brings him down for a kiss that is soft and tender.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow my twit @jih96n


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